Keep Your Computer In Tip-Top Shape , Part 1, by Karen Leland

I can only describe this past week as computer hell. A Malware invasion that crashed my WordPress site. An Email program snafu that banished over 200 of my messages to never, never land. A freaky bug that wouldn’t let me delete an errant email. Top this off with the fact that my last back up was over a week ago and you have a recipe for technology turmoil. It seems like everyone from small business owners to multinational moguls to working moms, spend as much time fixing issues on their computer as they do working on them.

“Malware, viruses, identity http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/identity> theft and spyware account for about 80% of all computer issues resulting in downtime,” reveals IT expert Chip Reaves. “It is estimated that the lost-productivity cost due to these alone is around $50 billion, and the associated IT costs of dealing with it has skyrocketed from $20 billion to $198 billion in the last five years.”Depending on the degree to which you rely on your computer, an interruption of service can be a mere inconvenience, or can add up to thousands of dollars in lost downtime or data.

Although the mere thought of trying to ‘fix’ a computer can cause most of us to break out in a cold sweat, Reaves, the National Director Computer Troubleshooters <http://technologysolved.blogspot.com/>, says there are some simple tips everyone can use to keep their computers in tip-top shape.

Return next week for tips that will help you to keep your computer in shape!

Please note that this article is copyrighted by Karen Leland. If you would like to reprint any or all of it on your blog or website for non-commercial purposes you are welcome to do so, provided you give credit and a live link to her blog As Soon As I Finish Carving The Ice Sculpture: True Confessions of An Overachiever at www.karenleland.com

Karen Leland is the bestselling author of six books including Time Management In An Instant: 60 Ways to Make the Most of Your Day. She is the co-founder of Sterling Consulting Group, which helps organizations and individuals learn how to fight distraction and find their focus in a wired world. For more information please contact: [email protected]